Reflection and turmoil

After putting plenty of distance between himself and the scene, he used Grand Luo Insight to cautiously stroll back to the crowded Initial Land, where prying eyes were everywhere. Only after altering his appearance with Twin Hands did he brazenly wander around. Once he confirmed that no one had discovered him, he cautiously logged out.

Opening his eyes again in the courtyard, Chen Yao finally breathed a sigh of relief. At the same time, he was quite pleased.

Although Shi Yi's sudden interference would bring him plenty of trouble, it had also helped him gauge his own strength and determine what level of power his Eight Extraordinary Skills possessed.

First, his earlier guess had been right. These Eight Extraordinary Skills were not the original versions; they had been strengthened considerably. They should qualify as standard First-Generation Precious Techniques, though they were probably still inferior to those of an Innate Supreme. Shi Yi's Double Pupils were a relatively high-grade innate supreme physique. From the feedback when their skills clashed, he had confirmed that his Eight Extraordinary Skills had not reached that level.

When facing the Double-Pupil Creation Divine Armor, which had already been cracked by the backlash of an attack reflected through a spatial-temporal rift, he had successively unleashed Transform Myriad Arts from Qi-State Origin-Flow and two Casual Hand Divine Talismans from Heaven Communicating Talisman Art. Even then, he had only shattered divine armor that was already weakened. As Shi Yi had said, if that strike had possessed sufficient offensive power-on the level of Double-Pupil Annihilation Mystic Light or Two-Polarity Divine Light-Shi Yi, who had been caught off guard and suffered badly under hard crowd control, might have been killed on the spot.

Even if the Five Thunder Talisman's Crimson Palace Thunder had not diverted some of its power into Water Viscera Thunder and had instead unleashed all of it as destructive force, it would at most have scorched Shi Yi's head further and damaged some bone. It could not have blown his head apart in a single strike.

Transform Myriad Arts from Qi-State Origin-Flow had also failed to overcome Creation Divine Armor in one strike. Had the divine armor been intact, its resistance would have been even stronger. At most, one layer would have been dissolved; it would not have been pierced outright. Moreover, dissolving Extinction Profound Light had been quite strenuous. If that deadlock had continued, Extinction Profound Light would soon have broken through the power of Transform Myriad Arts.

Grand Luo Insight could not evade the scrutiny of the heavenly eye inherent in Double Pupils, either.

The strength of a standard First-Generation Precious Technique was inferior to that of an Innate Supreme, but it was sufficient during the early stages, when his cultivation remained low. That was a good thing. Perhaps the Eight Extraordinary Skills he had received really had been created by Feng Hou and the others within the Shrouding the Heavens cosmology, which was why they were much stronger than the originals and belonged to the sage level.

As for his own strength, the divine ability he had obtained after using Twin Hands to blaze a path was remarkably effective. Even Shi Yi had failed to dispel it immediately. If Shi Yi noticed it in advance and resisted, then even if its effectiveness diminished and it could no longer weaken Double Pupils as thoroughly as before, it could still disrupt him for a breath or two, perhaps two or three, briefly reducing his strength by ten or twenty percent.

I have to find a way to make this divine ability more versatile. Having to hit the physical body before it takes effect is far too troublesome. Ideally, I should elevate it to the level of a domain, so it can affect people from a distance. Just like Gao Ning the Thunder-Smoke Cannon's Twelve Labor Emotions Formation.

"Also, I ought to give this divine ability a better name. Spiritual Blood and Qi no longer quite fits. Hmm... the Three Corpses God, the Corpse Demon, cultivation deviation, demons afflicting the soul... from now on, this move will be called Heavenly Demon Tribulation!" Chen Yao renamed his divine ability.

"As expected, it's the person who's powerful, not the art. A divine ability gained through transcending one's own Extreme Realm is outrageously compatible with one's own methods. Perhaps it aligns with the tendencies of one's own true spirit even better than a first-generation being's Innate Precious Technique or innate divine bloodline. That must be why you can't rely on bloodlines to attain the Dao. However powerful it is, what isn't yours ultimately isn't yours. Finding a Dao that follows the innate tendencies of your true spirit matters more."

"I'm just not cut out to deal damage. Support suits me better."

"And I need to cultivate my cave heavens all over again. Taking pills before still left my foundations shaky. It's been half a year, and I still haven't felt any sign of Ten Cave Heavens. So painstaking cultivation can't be sped up by popping pills after all. I'll have to reopen every cave heaven with hidden problems to eliminate them."

Chen Yao took stock of his gains and losses and decided not to visit the Void God Realm for a while.

In the Initial Land of the Void God Realm, a stall selling recording jade slips was doing a roaring trade.

"Come take a look!"

"Precious footage of Wu Gensheng battling Shi Yi, the Double-Pupiled One! Revealing the mysterious Precious Techniques of Double Pupils!"

Lord Bird and Lord Crystal Wall hawked their wares, selling Image Recording Jade Slips by the handful.

"Yi! Those two old bastards publicizing your techniques like this will put you at a disadvantage. Perhaps we should punish them appropriately-kill a chicken to warn the monkeys-and let the world know that some things are not theirs to pry into, even if they'll learn about them sooner or later!" A senior elder of the Martial King Manor wore a dark expression, his murderous intent laid bare.

"There's no need. Those techniques aren't particularly important. Double Pupils have no equal. Knowing about them doesn't mean you can defend against them," Shi Yi said calmly. "Besides, we might as well use them to spread word of Wu Gensheng's methods and make trouble for him."

"Now that it's already spread, don't do anything unnecessary. Damaging our reputation too much wouldn't be good, either."

The senior elder could only nod and abandon his attempt to act. In private, however, he still arranged for some people to conceal their identities and go there, intending to strike at those two old bastards in secret and teach them a lesson. They would learn when to advance and retreat, and would not dare repeat the offense.

"Wu Gensheng possesses a strange divine ability that can slow time, letting him face his opponents at leisure and stand invincible! But once you break the formation he sets up, it all comes to nothing!"

"Wu Gensheng can dismantle techniques. It's best not to clash with him using Precious Techniques. Counter his strange arts with weapons and overpower him with your physical body!"

"Wu Gensheng..."

A subordinate assigned by Shi Yi began spreading information about Wu Gensheng, intending to make his uncanny methods and weaknesses known throughout the world!

Wu Gensheng's techniques mostly win through surprise. Their offensive power isn't strong in itself. Losing that element of strangeness should put him in great danger. Clever tricks and petty contrivances. Once my Double Pupils develop further and I reach Spirit Transformation, I'll be able to kill you easily. Shi Yi's gaze was shadowed. He found his earlier setback difficult to accept; it had damaged his image of invincibility. Had he been prepared, things would never have gone that far.

No. A setback is a setback. I shouldn't make excuses! Underestimating an opponent is unacceptable. I've thought far too highly of myself. Shi Yi abruptly caught himself and began sorting through his thoughts.

Elsewhere, Aman secretly bought a jade slip and carefully watched the first-person footage recorded by Lord Bird and Lord Crystal Wall.

Black light shot from Shi Yi's eyes, white light flowed into divine armor, and there was also divine light formed from the union of yin and yang. It matched what Chen Yao had described, proving that his words had not been false.

Shi Yi has been kept hidden in the Martial King Manor in recent years. He hasn't gone out, only trained in the Void God Realm. Usually, a single ordinary beam of divine light from his Double Pupils suppresses everything. There's never been any record of him using these moves. Even if there is, it's top secret. Probably only a handful of people in the Martial King Manor know. So... can Chen Yao really deduce these things? Aman tilted his head, listening to the accounts of Wu Gensheng's divine abilities, techniques, and "weaknesses" circulating around him as he considered his future plans.

He said little Hao would go to the Second Ancestral Land soon. I'll go and try my luck!

Several days later, Aman used traveling and seeking admission to the Heaven Mending Pavilion as his excuse and set off alone.

In truth, he had told Fourth Grandfather that he wanted to visit the Second Ancestral Land to pay his respects to Shi Hao.

Qingfeng had dropped his disguise half a year earlier. After Aman spoke to Fourth Grandfather about the Second Ancestral Land, Qingfeng had revealed the truth of his own accord. Upon learning that a stand-in really existed, Aman had insisted that the boy no longer be made to suffer. Once he gained support, orders were sent out, and Qingfeng received better arrangements. However, he still chose not to leave the Second Ancestral Land, merely moving with his grandfather into the deep mountains to live with a group of hunters.

Fourth Grandfather worried about Aman's safety and insisted on accompanying him, intending to escort him to the Heaven Mending Pavilion to study once they finished paying their respects. However, he found it difficult to get away. In the end, he hid his spirit body inside a magical artifact and put it into a dormant state, allowing it to remain far from his main body without dissipating while retaining enough strength to act a few times, and accompanied Aman that way.

Meanwhile, Chen Yao sat upright within the warlock inner landscape and queried the secrets of heaven. A small fireball appeared, which he casually shattered. A piece of heavenly information flowed out, informing him that Aman had already left for the Second Ancestral Land.

As Aman gradually diverged from the main storyline and matured ahead of time, his heavenly secrets were beginning to grow weightier. Perhaps one day Chen Yao would no longer be able to divine them directly, and Time-Stopping Golden Shutter would no longer be able to hold him in place.

"Time to set off! Stone Village, the Primitive True Explanation, the Willow Deity!" Chen Yao's eyes shone. He likewise departed in secret, trailing far behind Aman and using Grand Luo Insight to stride through the void, heading straight for the Second Ancestral Land!

In a secret chamber within the Martial King Manor.

"Fourth previously exposed that the child in the Ancestral Land was a stand-in and stopped covering it up. Now he seems to have secretly sent that lad to the Second Ancestral Land again. He must be plotting something! Perhaps the real child is there too! Catch up with him and intercept him. See if you can torture the full story out of him!" Fifth Grandfather spoke coldly, issuing orders to the death warriors before him.

"Yes!" A Spirit Transformation expert carrying an inscription realm magical artifact set out from the Martial King Manor with several skilled Cave Heaven Realm cultivators.